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SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — An Arizona judge found Edmonton Oilers goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin guilty on three charges related to driving under the influence and speeding on Friday, putting the netminder's future with the hockey club in question.

Judge B. Monte Morgan said the state's evidence was more "credible," and he was not satisfied with Khabibulin's lawyer Mark DuBiel's argument, which relied on the "scientific uncertainty" of the blood-alcohol tests.

A sentencing trial is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, pending approval by the state, DuBiel said. There, Khabibulin will answer to charges of driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol count of .08 or more, excessive speeding and an extreme driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol content of .15 or more.

The consequences usually involve fines, alcohol classes and jail; a minimum 30-day jail sentence is standard.

"He found him guilty of extreme DUI, and if that doesn't change, which it won't -- it usually doesn't between now and sentencing -- then yeah, he has to impose jail time," DuBiel said. "It's mandatory. That's the way the law is in Arizona and there's nothing I can do to change that. It happens to everyone across the board."

Khabibulin previously faced an additional charge, driving under the influence with impairment to the slightest degree, but that count was thrown out at the beginning of the trial by the state.

Three witnesses were called to testify in Scottsdale Municipal Court on behalf of the state and Khabibulin.

Officer Brent Patterson, who pulled Khabibulin over on Feb. 8, was the first to speak, and he recalled the events that led up to the arrest.

Khabibulin was arrested at approximately 12:35 a.m. near his home in Paradise Valley, a town in the Phoenix metropolitan area, after Patterson tagged him for speeding in a black Ferrari.

"I could hear the car coming before I could see it," Patterson said, adding that Khabibulin's speed peaked at 70 miles per hour (112 kilometres an hour) in a 45-mph (64 km/h) zone.

Patterson noticed Khabibulin's eyes were bloodshot and watery, and his speech was slow. Khabibulin agreed to perform field sobriety tests and eventually consented to a blood test, which revealed his blood alcohol content to be .164 -- more than twice the legal limit.

A criminalist who analyzed the blood test and determined its reading was the next to testify. He said that while the city of Scottsdale recognizes a margin of error of plus-or-minus five per cent with each test, .164 is most likely the "true value."

The final witness was a forensic toxicologist who reanalyzed the blood sample at the request of Du-Biel. This test was performed 4 ½ months after the initial one and revealed a blood-alcohol content of .158 with a plus-or-minus margin of error of 10 per cent. While he acknowledged the difference in the two tests could be a result of the dissipation of the alcohol, the blood is usually preserved in its original state for up to two years.

DuBiel tried to convince the judge to interpret either reading with a margin of error of 10 per cent as that was the "more appropriate standard."

Within that range, Khabibulin's blood alcohol count could be read as low as .143 or as high as .174.

"You have to give the defendant the benefit of the doubt," DuBiel told Judge Morgan.

In the end, however, the judge sided with the state's argument. Khabibulin, showing no emotion, exited the courtroom after the roughly three and a half-hour trial with DuBiel and Oilers assistant general manager Rick Olczyk, who was also in attendance.

The three met in an adjoining room and talked for about 30 minutes before leaving the courthouse.

Olczyk declined to comment on behalf of the Oilers, and Khabibulin also didn't talk.

DuBiel didn't want to comment on the judge's ruling or speculate about what's to come, but he did say the Oilers have been involved from the beginning and Khabibulin has kept hockey as a top priority.

"The Edmonton Oilers acknowledge and respect the decision handed down today by the Scottsdale City Court to goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin," Tambellini said.

"Both Nikolai and the Oilers organization recognize the severity of what has transpired. We plan on meeting with Nikolai, his agent and the National Hockey League in the near future."

Tambellini said he plans to speak to the media following Khabibulin's sentencing.

The veteran goalie played only 18 games last season before he had surgery to fix an ailing back. Training camp begins Sept. 17 with medicals.

Khabibulin signed a four-year $15-million US contract with the Oilers in July 2009.

In November, he stopped playing because of back problems, later diagnosed as a herniated disk that required surgery.

"Given my experience in these situations when a decision comes down like that from a judge it's just natural to have a wave of emotions," DuBiel said. "But I can tell you all along (Khabibulin) has really wanted to get back to work and focus on hockey. So it wouldn't surprise me that whatever sentence the judge hands down he's going to want to return to hockey, even as a stronger person."

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Oilers goalie Khabibulin found guilty

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